Scout

Xander has fallen in love...with his stuffed dog, Scout. This dog is absolutely his first love. He takes Scout everywhere! He wants to sleep with him, take him to the store, take him outside (which I quickly and firmly denied since the first time he went outside he was covered in grass), eat with him (also not a good idea - Scout sits far away from Xander when he eats), and ride with him in the car no matter where we're going. He keeps tabs on him, too, and needs to know where he is at all times. He loves this dog!

Scout is made by Leap Frog and is pretty darn cool! You can plug him into the computer and program him to say your child's name, load in his favorite food, color and animal, and then Scout will talk and sing to him. You can also choose songs without words - some of Xander's favorites are "Jingle Bells" and "She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain." He sings songs about your child, too, tells your child he loves him, etc. All your child does is push the buttons on Scout's paws. It's great!

David and I got Scout for Xander's first Christmas in 2009. Xander really didn't care much about him at the time, but we've kept him in the toy bin. We pulled him back out about two months ago and Xander hasn't put him down since!

I learned early on that Scout's sounds have to be turned off when Xander goes to sleep. One night he was up until about 10pm (when I was headed off to bed) just listening to Scout talk and sing to him. When I put Xander down to sleep I tell him that Scout has to go night-night. I'll go in the next morning and Xander will say, "Wake up, Scout! Mommy, turn sounds on."

Xander will give Scout spontaneous kisses, hugs and tell him "I love you, Scout." When Xander brushes his teeth at night, we have to take turns with Scout. He also pretends to feed Scout different foods. It's so funny!

I bought an app for my iPad that's called "Scout's ABC Garden." Xander loves to play that game, mainly because he gets to see his friend, Scout, or Scout's female counterpart, Violet. We also have a Leap Frog video that Grandma gave Xander called "Numbers Ahoy." Xander calls it "Numbers A-boy" and asks for it most mornings. He has the Leap Frog "Leaptop," too, which allows you to program emails and information on it. Scout runs that show, too.



Some might call it an obsession, but I prefer to see it as love! It could be worse. At least he's learning things while playing with Scout. Educational toys are the best!